Species Oryzaephilus mercator - Merchant Grain Beetle

Oryzaephilus mercator (Fauvel 1889)

see(1)(2)

The two Oryazephilus common in the US can be distinguished by a projection or bump just behind the eye. In O. surinamensis, this area is broad and blunt, and in mercator it is narrow and more protruding.

Left: O. surinamensis, right: O. mercator.

cosmopolitan; adventive in NA - Map (3)(4), of tropical origin(5)

a common household pest(3), in Canada found more frequently in apartments and other multiple dwellings than in houses(1)

Adults and larvae feed primarily on cereal products, particularly oatmeal, bran, shelled sunflower seeds, rolled oats, and brown rice(3); usually associated with oilseeds and less with cereal grains and in most regions damages processed cereals, especially those with high oil content; also feeds on seed-borne fungi(6)